Some time back, there was a flurry of experts up in arms over school backpacks. The little wee ones were going to be crippled for life, we were told, because they were carrying far too much on their slight bodies. Too many books to tote.
The fuss has died down as we found other things, like terrorist attack, to worry about. The argument may be resurrected, however, under a new banner.
Thomas Z. Freedman of the New Democratic Leadership Council would like every American child to have a Kindle.
As one would expect, he cites the cost savings of a download versus a print run. This assumes that e-book publishers would charge less for a new edition of the maths text in electronic format, which doesn't sound like any business model being taught at the Wharton School.
The poorest districts could have the same educational materials as the wealthier ones, but somewhere down the line the Kindle will go through an upgrade or two and the poorest schools will have outdated equipment that they can't afford to replace. Finding equality between the haves and the have-nots may not be so easily achieved.
Unless, of course, the poorest districts plan to follow the lead of Matthew Geise, who is suing Amazon for somewhere in the neighborhood of $5 million. It seems that the Kindle has a problem with cracking around the cover attachment clips, and Amazon has been less than helpful in providing a solution. According to Mr. Geise's lawsuit, the Kindle merchant wanted to charge him another $200 for repairs, on top of the $399 he'd already paid for the thing.
Adding insult to injury is a good way to get slapped with a lawsuit by the injured party. Mr. Geise is one unsatisfied customer. Imagine thousands of unsatisfied school board customers, all demanding satisfaction. The proceeds of the suit could help defray all sorts of educational costs for hard-pressed taxpayers.
A Kindle in every backpack, a lawsuit in every district, no more weary backs among America's schoolchildren. Everyone wins.
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